I have been a contrarian investor for decades and believe that patience pays off well in the long run. However, there are some ground rules to minimise the probability of failures. Firstly, one should not play contrarian for the sake of being a contrarian — or to stay away from the crowd. Secondly, a contra play is in those sectors or companies which are not doing well at a point in time. So, a good management in an underperforming sector is always better than an unscrupulous management in a good sector. The latter could be a good momentum play but the former, possibly, is a good contra play.